The prior art has typically attempted to carried out this connection with various types of brackets. U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,780 ('780 patent) discloses a unitary bracket having multiple flanges between which the sawhorse members will be positioned. The flanges have apertures such that holes may be drilled through the sawhorse members and bolts placed through the flange and sawhorse members. The bracket disclosed in the '780 patent illustrates a comparatively complex shape requiring a more complex manufacturing process and requiring a relatively large amount of metal to manufacture. Since this bracket is one piece, the distance between the flanges is fixed and the bracket can only accommodate a board of a single predetermined thickness. Also because the flanges are fixed, the sawhorse member is retained primarily by the bolts rather than frictional force between the flanges and sawhorse member. Furthermore, constructing a sawhorse with this bracket is unduly time consuming since holes must be drilled in the sawhorse members at each point they are connected to the bracket. When the sawhorse members deteriorate or become damaged, replacement requires that the bolts be completely removed from the bracket and the construction process repeated with new sawhorse members.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 617,463 (the '463 patent) and 4,890,952 (the '952 patent) disclose brackets which are connected to sawhorse members without apertures being drilled in the members. However, these brackets substantially enclose the sawhorse members and therefore accommodate only one member (i.e. board) size. The '952 patent does not grip the leg members and apparently relies on gravity to maintain the sawhorse legs in the proper position. The '463 patent employs an involved wedging system at the top of the cross piece and therefore limits not only the size of the legs, but also the size of the cross piece. What is needed in the art is a sawhorse bracket that overcomes the disadvantages discussed above by relying on frictional forces to grip the sawhorse members while not requiring apertures to be formed through the sawhorse members.